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The Chateau-Thierry-Soissons Drive When the trouble at Seicheprey broke out the Germans began shelling Beaumont and Mandres, and things took on a very serious look for the Salvation Army. Then the Military Colonel gave an order for the girls to leave Ansauville, and loading them up on a truck he sent them to Menil-la- Tour. They never allowed girls again in that town until after the St.
They were not permitted to repair the roof because the German airplane observers would notice it and know that some activity was going on there which would call for renewed shell fire. However, the top of one of the circus tents was easily run up in the barn so as to form a ceiling. Ansauville was between Mandres and Menil-la-Tour, not far from advanced positions in the Toul Sector.
Here During the Day They Worked in Dugouts Far Below the Shell-tortured Earth. They Came To Get Their Coats Mended and Their Buttons Sewed On. The Entrance to the Old Wine Cellar in Mandres. The Salvation Army Was Told that Ansauville Was Too Far Front for Any Women To Be Allowed To Go. L'Hermitage, Nestled in the Heart of a Deep Woods. L'Hermitage, Inside the Tent.
Nothing but shot-down houses, dugouts and camouflages, Y.M.C.A., Salvation Army and enlisted men. Dead Man's Curve was between Mandres and Beaumont. The enemy's eye was always upon it and had its range. Before the St. Mihiel drive one could go to Bouconville or Raulecourt only at night.
They had marched for hours and had been without any warm meal for a long time. Detachments of them reached Ansauville at night, wet and cold, too late to secure supper that night, and hearing they were coming, the lassies put on great boilers of coffee and cocoa, and as the men arrived they were given to them freely. A hut was established at Mandres.
Mihiel drive when Montsec was behind the line instead of in front did they dare enter Bouconville by day. Passing through Mandres, it was necessary to go to Beaumont, around Dead Man's Curve and then to Rambucourt, and proceed to Bouconville. Here the Salvation Army had an outpost in a partially destroyed residence.
The girls went down to decorate the two hundred American graves at Mandres, and even while they bent over the flaming blossoms and laid them on the mounds an air battle was going on over their heads. Close at hand was the American artillery being moved to the front on a little narrow- gauge railroad that ran near to the graveyard, and the Germans were firing and trying to get them.
Here are some extracts from letters written by the Ensign from the old wine cellar in Mandres: "Somewhere in France," May 15, 1918. I am still busy in my old wine-cellar in France. I must give you an idea of my daily routine: Get up early and, go to my cellar. Get wood and make fire; go for some water to put on stove. I dig whenever I have time.
"The place was lit by a candle or two and the guns were roaring overhead, but the room was packed and a great many men stood up for prayers. Oh, I'll never forget that meeting!" That meeting was in the old wine cellar in Mandres. The town of Mandres was shelled daily and it was an exceptional day that passed without from one to ten men being killed as a result of this shelling.
When this order was given, the Salvation Army had no intention of discontinuing work at Mandres and so found a cellar under a partially destroyed building. This cellar was vaulted and had been used for storing wine. It was wet and in bad condition, but with some labor it was made fit to receive the men; and tables and benches were placed there, the canteen established and a range set up.
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